Technikatörténeti szemle 15. (1985)

TANULMÁNYOK - Amram, M. Fred: Women’s contributions to the history of technology

One of the first organized efforts to display women's innovations was the Women's Building at the American Centenial Exposition (1876) The headquarters of the women's centenial executive committee, Mrs. E. D. Gillespie receving reports from the sub-committees have to think of themselves as potential innovators. By and large women don't say they are going out to invent a new job or a new way of doing things. (9) In summary, then, this paper suggests that technology is that which humans interpose between themselves and the objective world to change that objective world (e. g., tools, machines). 1. The emphasis of technology is on change. 2. Technological change normally tries to increase human efficiency (e. g., strength, senses, intelligence, time). 3. Technological change is incremental. 4. Technological innovation presupposes knowledge of prior technology. 5. It is difficult to assign credit for technological change because different people may be responsible for conceptualizing, patenting, and making an innovation commercially successful. 6. Innovations reflect the immediate and the cultural environment of the inventor.